Underwear Envy' lands Lansdale man under court supervision

COURTHOUSE — His “Envy” of underwear at a Montgomery County adult entertainment shop resulted in a bit of displeasure for a 65-year-old Lansdale man.

For pilfering a pair of “Envy” underwear from a rack at the Adult World store in Montgomery Township, Gary Lee Lutz, of the 100 block of Green Street, was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered by a Montgomery County judge to pay a $250 fine. Lutz pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of retail theft, as part of a negotiated plea agreement accepted by Judge Gary Silow, in connection with the July 26, 2013, incident at the store located on Bethlehem Pike.

“He certainly is not public enemy number one and he certainly is not someone that society needs to fear. He’s about as harmless as they come,” defense lawyer John Kravitz said on Lutz’s behalf, adding Lutz wanted to accept responsibility for his conduct. “He never denied it.”

Kravitz suggested there are other details that are “sympathetic” to Lutz but weren’t revealed in court as a result of the plea agreement.

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“Something that I don’t want to go into out of respect for his privacy right now,” added Kravitz, who characterized the incident as “a quirky crime.”

An investigation began about 2:38 p.m. when Montgomery Township police responded to the store for a report of a retail theft in progress. A store cashier told police she heard “a rustling sound behind the underwear rack” and when she went to investigate she observed an elderly male walk from behind the rack, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Montgomery Township Police Officer Timothy Woch.

The clerk checked the rack and discovered an empty box that used to contain a pair of white “Envy” underwear worth about $19, according to court papers.

“She confronted the elderly male about the missing underwear but he continued to walk through the store and out the back door without paying for the merchandise,” Woch alleged, adding the clerk recorded the man’s license plate number as he drove away.

Prior to police finding the suspect they were contacted by Lutz “who admitted to being the person who stole the underwear” and Lutz turned himself in to police, according to the arrest affidavit.